Economic and Power System Modeling and Analysis

NREL's Economic Analysis and power system modeling integrates data from device deployment and programmatic research into deployment and scenario models to quantify the economic and societal benefits of developing cost-competitive marine and hydrokinetic systems. It also identifies policy mechanisms, market designs, and supply chain needs to support various deployment scenarios, provide information and training to potential members of the marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) industry and effectively collaborate with all associated stakeholders.

JEDI Modeling

NREL worked with industry members to develop and provide public access to an easy-to-use input-output model that estimates the jobs and economic development impacts (JEDI) of MHK projects in the United States. The JEDI model examines three categories of economic impacts:

Onsite labor impacts;

Supply chain impacts, and

Induced impacts.

While the data contains significant uncertainties due to the lack of a robust United States MHK market, the information presented in this model represents the most detailed, current, and accurate MHK information available to the public at the time of model development. The model will be updated as relevant project data become available.

For users with little working knowledge of MHK projects, reasonable default values are provided; however, because of the relative immaturity of MHK technology, the default data are only available for projects of a specific size. Consistent with the JEDI platform, the MHK model allows a high level of user flexibility and users are encouraged to input their own project-specific data. To download the MHK JEDI model and learn more about it, visit About JEDI Marine & Hydrokinetic Power Model.

ReEDS

The Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) (formerly known as the Wind Deployment System or WinDS) model is a computer model that optimizes the regional expansion of electric generation and transmission capacity in the continental United States over the next 50 years. The model presently includes only a basic representation of marine and hydrokinetic, conventional hydropower, and pumped storage hydropower capacity. NREL is presently working with the Department of Energy to improve the representation of marine and hydrokinetic technologies and conventional hydropower and pumped storage hydropower in the ReEDS model and to use ReEDS to assess the potential of these technologies and the integration of other variable resource renewable energy technologies.

The ReEDS website presents an overview of this NREL-developed tool, as well as relevant data and related publications. Site users also will find background on the model as well as a detailed model description.